


A New Hope Awakens

by AXEe



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: All Expanded Universe is fair game, Alternate Universe - Fusion, F/F, Gen, Imperial Astra, Rebel Alex, Star Wars AU, Stormtrooper Lucy, yes I went there
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-16
Updated: 2018-04-15
Packaged: 2019-02-03 05:58:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 15,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12742377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AXEe/pseuds/AXEe
Summary: A General Danvers/Star Wars fusion AU





	1. A Long Time Ago, In a Galaxy Far, Far Away...

**Author's Note:**

> I am such a nerd.
> 
> Yep, this a General Danvers Star Wars fusion AU. Why, you may ask? Well, why not? I grew up on Star Wars and Star Trek and I thought, why not do a GD take on one of them, hey, I already did one for Pacific Rim, why not Star Wars?
> 
> Anyway as to where this takes place in the overall Star Wars universe/timeline? Well, after the prequel trilogy but before Episode IV, and yes, I am totally ignoring Disney's new continuity, I'm not going to just throw away nearly forty _years_ worth of lore just because Mickey and Pluto say so.
> 
> Anyway, please enjoy :=)

**The GALACTIC REPUBLIC, the light of civilization in the galaxy, has fallen.**

**It is the time of Jedi Purges, a time when the newly-formed GALACTIC EMPIRE, determined to eradicate the last of members of the Jedi Order, has sent out legions of Imperial stormtroopers across the Galaxy to countless worlds, with orders to bring them into the Imperial fold through any means necessary, and root out any surviving Jedi.**

**In its quest to bring freedom back to the Galaxy, the heroic REBEL ALLIANCE has learned that the Empire is building a weapon of mass destruction called MYRIAD. If completed, this weapon could spell certain doom for the Alliance and freedom throughout the Galaxy.**

**To ensure its destruction, the Alliance has sent of its top operatives, Alexandra Danvers, daughter of Corellian Jedi and hero of the Clone Wars, Jeremiah Danvers, to infiltrate an Imperial stronghold and steal the plans for Myriad and ensure its destruction.**

**Betrayed by her own teammates, she has been captured and now faces death at the hands of the Empire.**

**But she will find hope instead. For, hidden among the ranks of the Empire is one of the last Jedi in existence…**


	2. Awakening

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! Chapter TWO of my General Danvers/Star Wars fusion AU is now up! Prepare to see lots of little in jokes relating to the original trilogy. Enjoy! :=)

******

Cadmus was an Outer Rim world. Due to a series of violent volcanic eruptions over half a century ago the entire planet was caught in the icy grip of a harsh nuclear winter, once lush forests were now barren, rocky windswept icy and ashy plains littered with the desiccated fallen husks of once-mighty trees, the average temperature was well below zero on a ‘good day’.

In short, it was the perfect place to hide a secret military stronghold.

Cadmus Base, a massive complex half-carved out of a mountainside, was the Empire’s top military instillation for research and development. A branch of the Imperial Department of Military Research, it was in charge of—among other things—ensuring that the Emperor’s war machine never ceased. Every day, Cadmus Base designed and tested new starfighter designs, new Stormtrooper armor permutations, and blasters. All of these weapons of war were tested to lethal efficiently, often on Imperial prisoners.

Alex Danvers hoped that she wouldn’t end up as target practice.

Wriggling in her bonds slightly, she had to wonder how this entire mission had gone so utterly _**wrong**_. If she ever got out of this alive she was going to _tear_ that bastard Lord limb from limb. Assuming, of course, that she even survived the interrogation, the Empire wasn’t known for ‘asking’ questions, at least not _only_ asking questions.

She tensed as the door to her cell suddenly slid open, but instead of an interrogation droid, it was two Stormtroopers, both flanking a tall woman in Imperial black. She project an air of command as she marched into the room, the two Stormtroopers following, clearly she was in charge, perhaps the commandant of the entire base even. Her uniform and shoulder insignia indicated that she was from Imperial Intelligence. She was quite pretty, actually, with high, elegant cheekbones and long dark hair with a streak of white in it.

But it was her eyes that gave Alex pause. They were a striking grey-green in color, and seemed to bore into Alex, as of the other woman could somehow see into her very soul.

The Imperial paused as she came up to Alex, assessing the standard interrogation chair that the young woman was currently strapped in to

“Where was she found?” she demanded

“By the northern perimeter fence,” one Stormtrooper—a woman by the sound of the filtered voice—answered “our informant within the Alliance informed us about her presence”

“Has he been compensated for his troubles?” the woman asked

“He demanded an addition three hundred credits”

The woman raised an eyebrow “Oh?” she asked “and _did_ we give him the three hundred credits?”

“No, ma’am,” the second Stormtrooper—a man this time—answered “but I’ve been assured that he’s being…asked to reconsider as we speak,” he added. He held out a metal rod to the woman “we found this on her” he explained.

The woman took the item, smirking “A lightsaber,” she commented, clearly surprised. She hefted the hilt, thumbing the activation switch, the blade igniting in brilliant blue “and in full working order, I see,” the woman commented.

She swung the weapon experimentally, the blade humming as it sliced through the air, before she extinguished the blade. She smirked as she turned to finally address Alex “but you’re not a Jedi, are you? No. A Jedi would have happily sliced their way through at least half my men before being shot. No…you’re a child carrying a memento of a fallen loved one, aren’t you? Which means that you’re from Corrillia, only Corillian Jedi were allowed to have families, after all,” she smirked as she leaned forward, idly brushing the tip of one finger across Alex’s cheek “I’ve been waiting for quite some time to capture one of you alive,” she breathed.

She straightened up, addressing the two Stormtroopers “leave us”

The two Stormtroopers snapped to attention and swiftly left, the door sliding shut behind them, leaving Alex and the woman alone. Now alone, Alex felt an odd sense of bravado settle over her

“You should know,” she began “that I’ll die before I’ll betray the Rebellion”

“Hmm,” the other woman shrugged; looking bored “how long did it take you to memorize _that_ little line?” she wondered “tell me, do all Rebel soldiers watch the same melodramatic HoloNet dramas? _‘You’ll never take me alive’_ , _‘you’ll have to kill me first’_ , _‘I’ll die before I help you’_ , _‘long live the Republic’_. Honestly, it’s quite tiresome to hear the same responses day after day. If I wanted to listen to meaningless drivel, I’d just listen to Palpatine’s speeches,” she smirked at Alex’s startled expression, no one— _no one_ —insulted Palpatine, especially not a high-ranking Imperial intelligence agent

“Let’s start with a simple question,” the woman began “name?”

“Go to hell”

“Interesting. I don’t believe I’ve heard that name before,” the other woman drawled “all right, I’m General Astra, and you are…?”

“Fuck you”

“Ah,” the woman now identified as ‘General Astra’ reignited the lightsaber and pointed its blade at Alex’s throat “now, now, let’s not be crude, shall we? I’ve been nothing but gracious up until now, I’d expect the same courtesy from you,” she extinguished the blade “now. Let’s start again. Name?” Alex remained silent “all right,” General Astra sighed “whose lightsaber is this? And, please, don’t insult my intelligence and say ‘I found it’. We both know that the only way this weapon came into your possession was if the original owner was dead,”

Alex swallowed, but said nothing

“Hmm,” General Astra sighed and pulled a small datapad out of her pocket “according to the blood sample we took from you, your midi-chlorian count is above normal, meaning that you’re Force-sensitive,” she fixed Alex with a hard stare “you _do_ know what the Empire _does_ to Force-sensitives, don’t you?” she challenged

The door suddenly slid open again

“General Astra!” a man suddenly burst in, looking frantic “apologies, ma’am, but…Lord Vader is coming”

Astra slowly turned to face him

“What?” she demanded

The man nodded “Yes, ma’am, he wants to interrogate the prisoner personally, ma’am,” he meekly offered a datapad to her “you’re orders are to transport her to the northern gate where a squad of Stormtroopers will take her to Coruscant”

“I don’t see anything in here about Coruscant” General Astra noted

“Ma’am?” the man questioned, looking positively terrified at the prospect of contradicting both her _and_ Vader

“See for yourself,” General Astra held out the pad, when he looked down she suddenly swung it up into his face. As he staggered back, she grabbed one flailing arm and threw him against the wall, wrenching one arm behind his back “call for help and I assure you that you will be dead before your body even touches the floor,” she growled “comlink, code cylinder, blaster,” she ordered. Grunting, the man gave up the requested items “thank you,” General Astra remarked before soundly pistol-whipping him unconscious with the butt of his own blaster.

Looking at the blaster, she grimaced “ _So_ uncivilized,” she muttered as she turned to Alex, swiftly releasing her, easily catching Alex’s clumsily blows as Alex tried to fight her way away “brave,” General Astra noted “stupid. But brave,” she shoved Alex back into the chair “now, I don’t _have_ to help you, in fact I could very easily let you escape on your own and we’ll see how you fair against an entire planet’s worth of Imperial soldiers. _Or_ , you can let me help you. Your choice”

“Why are _you_ helping _me_?” Alex demanded

General Astra smirked “All in due time. Now, do you want to get out of here?”

Grunting, Alex nodded harshly

“Good” Astra handed her the blaster as she grabbed the lightsaber

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll use this on you?” Alex hefted the blaster as Astra peered around the door before urging Alex through

“We’ll need to move quickly,” Astra ordered, ignoring Alex’s question “once our friend back there doesn’t check in they’ll sound the alarm” she paused as a group of Stormtroopers rounded the corner

“General Astra”

They snapped to attention

“We’ve been ordered to escort the prisoner the northern gate” one, presumably the leader, said

“The prisoner’s already been transferred” Astra told them

“We’ve just transferred the prisoner” the leader replied suddenly

“You can go about your regular duties” Astra added

“We’ll go about our regular duties”

“Move along”

“Move along,” the lead trooper waved his troops along past the two women “move along”

Alex stared at the other woman, the pieces suddenly falling into place. How she knew that her father was Corillian, how she knew about midi-chorlians, why she had taken the lightsaber with her, and how she just tricked the troops back there

“You’re a Jedi” she realized

General Astra smirked “Gray Jedi,” she corrected “but yes, I am. Astra In-ze, at your service”

“Then why are you _helping_ the Empire?” Alex hissed as they stopped at a maintenance hatch, Astra quickly stooping to try and open it

“Who says I’m helping them?” Astra challenged

Alex frowned “You’re ferrying Jedi to freedom,” she realized “that’s why you tested my mid-chlorian count, because if I was Force-sensitive then it meant that might be a Jedi”

“I _was_ ferrying Jedi to freedom,” Astra corrected grimly “back when there was freedom to be found, ah! Got it!” she pulled open the hatch just as an alarm screamed out “great”

“There! Stop them!”

“Down!” Astra shoved Alex down the hatch, diving in after her as blaster fire lit up the corridor. The two women slid down a narrow chute to land in something cold and wet

Alex groaned as she sat up

“Why is it always a garbage chute?” she wondered

“Never mind that,” Astra hauled her up, and slogging their way through the muck, made their way towards another hatch. Astra paused, placing her hand flat against the metal and closing her eye before pulling back “Stormtroopers on the other side” she announced

“Well we can’t stay here” Alex pointed out as there was a distant thump from above, probably more garbage, Alex hoped

“No,” Astra agreed “we can’t,” she put her hand on the controls “ready? Three….two….one”

The hatch slid open.

For a second the Stormtroopers stared at the two women. Then…

“It’s them! Blast them!”

Alex ducked back, firing off two shots from her stolen blaster, watching as Astra suddenly ignited the lightsaber. The troopers froze, startled

“She’s a Jedi!” one exclaimed as Astra suddenly flung out her hand, the air in front of her palm rippling slightly as the trooper was suddenly flung across the room. Twisting and turning, lightsaber whistling and buzzing through the air, blaster bolts ricocheting off the glowing blade, Astra quickly cut down the squadron of troopers with frightening efficiency. Panting slightly, she extinguished the blade and turned to Alex

“Well?” she demanded expectantly “you going to stand there all day?”

Swallowing, Alex shakily climbing out of the garbage chute and followed the other woman on shaky, trembling knees. She’d never seen a Jedi in combat before, no one of her generation had, not in person anyway. She shivered as she recalled the raw _power_ Astra had wielded, the power of something that she didn’t quite understand. Watching her then, Alex could see how the Empire could be afraid of the Jedi and the Force.

A groan made her turn, one of the Stormtroopers was still alive and readying his blaster

“Astra!”

Without bothering to turn to look, Astra calmly ignited the blade once more, idly flicking it back, the blaster bolt deflected back along its original path, striking the trooper and killing him

“Hurry up” Astra called as she extinguished the blade again…

******

They hurried through the back corridors, towards the docking area, mindful of more patrols

“We need a shuttle,” Astra muttered as she paused at a control panel “hyperspace-capable obviously. Ah, got it,” she entered a string of commands and then grabbed Alex’s arm “come on,” she hissed as the outer doors opened, the freezing cold air of Cadmus’ natural environment blasting them both “stick close to me,” Astra ordered as they sprinted across the wide open landing area towards a Lambda-class shuttle parked nearby “in, quickly!” Astra hissed, sprinting up the ramp after Alex “let’s forget the pre-flight check” she muttered as her fingers flew across the controls, the engines humming to life, the craft lurching slightly as the repulslorlifts kicked in

The comm. suddenly crackled to life

“ _Shuttle_ Tydirium _, you are not cleared for take-off, cut your engines_ ”

Astra looked over at Alex, smirking

“Shall we listen to the nice man?” she mocked

Alex found herself smirking back

“No”

“Hmm, didn’t think so. Punch it”

The shuttle suddenly shot forwards, easily clearing the planet’s atmosphere in a matter of seconds. A muffled _thump_ from behind them made both women freeze. Slowly turning, they both came face to face with a lone, armed Stormtrooper

“Great,” Astra sighed. She looked at Alex “well, it was nice knowing you…”


	3. Flight From Daxam

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter THREE! Enjoy! :=)

******

The Stormtrooper leveled the blaster rifle at them even as the shuttle continued to move past the confines of the planet below, simple inertia propelling it forward

“Move and I shoot” the Stormtrooper warned, the voice, although filtered, was that of a woman’s

Astra frowned, tilting her head as if studying the trooper

“You’re not like other Stormtroopers are you?” she mused “no. You’re too…independent, too much of a free-thinker. No amount of indoctrination could completely wipe your conscience. Tell me, do you ever have nightmares? Do you recall the faces of those you’ve killed in Palpatine’s name?” she frowned “yes, I think you do, I think you have them every night, and I think that they’re not going to stop”

Alex watched as the trooper’s grip on the blaster trembled

“Put the blaster down,” Astra pleaded softly “let us help you”

The Stormtooper slowly lowered the blaster, which Alex quickly snatched from her. She turned to Astra

“Guess those rumors of the Jedi mind trick are true, huh?” she remarked

“No,” Astra shook her head sadly “no tricks, just the stain of a guilty conscience,” she addressed the trooper “help us to escape and no harm will come to you, if you wish, we’ll drop you off on the nearest habitable planet with a homing beacon. Refuse,” she ignited the lightsaber again in a lighting quick movement, earning a startled jump from the trooper even before she had leveled it with the trooper’s throat “…and I _will_ kill you” she promised

The trooper slowly nodded

“I’ll help you”

Astra extinguished the lightsaber

“Take off that helmet,” she instructed. Slowly reaching up, the trooper removed her helmet, revealing a Human woman with dark skin and hair and bright blue eyes “now, what is your name?” Astra asked softly

“TX-11—,” the trooper shook her head “Lucy,” she replied softly “Lucy Lane”

“General Lane’s daughter?” Alex asked

Lucy Lane nodded “Yes” she replied just as the shuttle suddenly shook

“Crap,” Alex turned back to the controls “TIE fighters” she announced as she tried to maneuver away from the pursuing craft

“I was wondering how long it would take them to scramble planetary defenses,” Astra muttered as she turned back to the controls “I need a hyperspace jump now!” she barked

Alex let out a snarl and hit the console “The navicomp’s still calculating a jump,” she announced “it’ll take time. Time we don’t have!”

Astra snarled in frustration “Then hold on to something!” she ordered as she put the craft into a diving spin, the inertial compensators audibly whining in protest as the three women were tossed about inside the cockpit, with Lucy being thrown to the floor

“Watch it!” she yelled as the shuttle dipped and spun wildly as Astra tried to avoid the TIE fighters

“Uh-oh” Alex nodded to the scanners

“I know,” Astra nodded grimly “a Star Destroyer”

“We’re dead” Alex pronounced

“No, we’re not,” Astra grinned as she primed the hyperdrive “hold on!”

“We don’t have the proper coordinates!” Alex objected as the shuttle suddenly launched itself into hyperspace

“We don’t need them,” Astra replied, sighing in relief as the viewport was filled with the swirling blue of hyperspace “we just need to make a short jump, exit, and then recalculate a different hyperspace vector,” Astra explained “I’m told that the Rebellion does it all the time” she commented

“Not _all_ the time” Alex muttered somewhat sullenly

“You two,” Lucy slowly picked herself up off the floor “….are _insane!_ ” she proclaimed…

******

Meanwhile, back in orbit over Cadmus, onboard the bridge of the Star Destroyer _Black Mercy_ , the ship’s commander scowled at the viewport, watching the empty space where the shuttle had been just moments ago, as if she could somehow _will_ the shuttle to return

“Lady Luthor”

Lillian Luthor, the Empire’s top agent second only to Lord Vader, turned to the unfortunate Admiral before her

“What just happened?” she demanded “tell me exactly _how_ a single shuttle could avoid an entire squadron of TIE fighters and this ship, Admiral?”

“Begging your pardon, my lady, but…we have reason to believe that General Astra is with the rebel agent,” the Admiral explained “in fact,” he added hesitantly “it appears that she…General Astra…is a…traitor”

“ _What?_ ” Lillian hissed. The Admiral flinched at her tone, visibly cringing

“We have…holovid recordings from their escape from the base,” he explained “General Astra was in possession of a Jedi weapon”

Lillian froze

“A lightsaber?” she asked, the Admiral nodded “show me” she ordered. Looking only partly relieved, he led her to a console, pulling up the security footage. The tiny, three inch tall hologram depicted Astra easily cutting down an entire squad of Stormtroopers “freeze it,” Lillian ordered, the image froze, and Lillian leaned in, carefully examining the image of Astra “Astra In-ze,” she breathed. She chuckled “I thought you died with Krypton,” she remarked. She straightened up “send a message to Lord Vader,” she ordered “tell him…that we have found the last Jedi”

“Apologies, ma’am,” the Admiral cringed “but…Lord Vader’s shuttle has just docked, he wishes to speak with you”

Lillian visibly paled…

******

“We need to go back” Alex proclaimed suddenly

Astra looked up as she finished securing Lucy in a pair of cuffs, neither she or Alex still fully trusted the stormtrooper, for all they knew it was a ruse to gain their trust and then bring them back into Imperial hands. Granted, stormtroopers weren’t known for their intelligence, but neither woman was willing to take that risl

“Go back?” Astra echoed as she finished tightening Lucy’s cuffs

“My mission was to recover the data of a new weapon being designed by the Empire,” Alex explained “something called ‘myriad’.”

“I have it right here,” Astra held up a data cylinder “complete plans for Myriad,” she tossed it to Alex “maybe the Rebellion can make sense out of it, I certainly couldn’t”

“So you don’t know what it does?” Alex asked

Astra shook her head “I know its dangerous, isn’t that enough?”

******

The shuttle emerged from hyperspace with a slight jolt, the result of having made several short jumps in succession, a planet hung in space before them

“Welcome to Daxam” Alex muttered

“Alex” Astra pointed out the viewport

“Crap!” Alex hissed at the image of a Star Destroyer hanging suspended in orbit over the planet, swarms of TIE fighters spilling out from its body like insects to duel with Rebel X-wings as transport ships tried to escape the planet make it to the safety of hyperspace “Lord must have told them where we are,” Alex grumbled. She fixed Astra with a glare “well what do we do now, _General_?” she sneered

“Fly casual,” Astra shrugged “we’re in an Imperial shuttle,” she reminded her as she skillfully slid the shuttle past the melee and into the planet’s atmosphere and landed the perimeter from the Rebel base “let’s go,” she grabbed blaster rifle taken from Lucy and handed to Alex while she grabbed the lightsaber “come on!” she hissed as the boarding ramp lowered, a cluster of Stormtroopers at the bottom

“General Astra,” one saluted “we’re in need of reinforcements”

“Good to hear” Astra quipped as she suddenly ignited the lightsaber and flew into battle, decimating the startled troopers easily. Turning back as Alex sprinted down the ramp after her, Astra pointed at Lucy “stay” she ordered

Lucy held up her cuffed hands “Where am I going to go?” she wondered sardonically as the ramp rose.

All around them the planet’s landscape was alive with battle. Rebel speeders swung across the ground, trying to dodge fire from Imperial AT-ATs, while stormtroopers and ordinary Imperial soldiers fought with Rebel soldiers in a violent, confused cluster of bodies as the AT-ATs marched towards a structure half-buried into a hillside

“Well,” Astra began “this all looks just perfectly…awful”

“There’s only two of us” Alex reminded her

“Better than none,” Astra replied with a smirk. She ignited the lightsaber “shall we?”

Grinning Alex primed the blaster rifle and opened fire as Astra leapt into the fray, lightsaber whistling and humming as it sliced through air and Imperial soldiers alike with ease. Rebel soldiers froze, watching in amazement at the image of a woman dressed in an Imperial uniform welding a Jedi weapon and fighting against the Imperial troops.

“Kara!” Alex sprinted towards the Rebel trenches, diving into one as Rebel soldiers surrounded her

“Danvers?” someone asked

“Stand down,” Kara Zor-El ordered. She shook her head in amazement “Alex…we heard you were dead” she muttered

“I was betrayed by Maxwell Lord,” Alex replied “he’s the one who brought the Empire to our doorstep here,” she explained “where’s J’onn?” she demanded

“Back at base, trying to coordinate the escape effort” Kara answered, looking confused as to why Alex wasn’t retreating with the others

Alex nodded harshly “Right!” priming her rifle again; she leapt up and sprinted through the battlefield towards the base, ignoring Kara's cries for her to stop…

******

Astra grunted as she swept the lightsaber from side to side, taking out the two troopers surrounding her. Gasping, she stumbled as a blaster bolt hit her in the leg, causing her to lose her grip on the lightsaber, the hilt falling out of her hand as the blade extinguished

“Hold it right there, Jedi!” one trooper ordered as a dozen or so troopers surrounded her

Grunting, Astra forced herself up on one knee, her mind working overtime, trying to anticipate their next move, but it had been so long since she had last used the Force like this, she had been hiding for so long that even her skills with a lightsaber, while impressive from Alex’s point of view, were rusty, out of use. She honestly didn’t know how she would make it out of this one.

The roar of an engine made her look up as a shuttle swooped low overhead, turbolasers firing, taking out the soldiers surrounding her in short order, landing nearby the boarding ramp descend and Lucy Lane descended in full armor, helmet tucked under one arm, looking far too smug for Astra’s liking as she smirked

“Need a hand?” she quipped…

******

“J’onn!” Alex fought her way through the fleeing crowds towards the command center “J’onn!”

“Alex!” J’onn J’onzz turned, looking stunned at her arrival as he helped the last few technicians out of the room. Alex grimaced as the base suddenly shook from an explosion, parts of the ceiling crumbling and caving in

“That was close” she realized

“ _Imperial troops have entered the base!_ ” a voice announced over the intercom “ _Imperial troops have—_ ”

“We need to go now!” J’onn ordered

Alex nodded as she ushered the last few technicians out of the room. Grunting as the base shook and trembled around her, Alex scowled as she and J’onn stumbled down the corridor, a Stormtrooper suddenly blocking their path, rifle aimed

“Get down!” the trooper ordered.

Twisting around, Alex shoved J’onn to the side as a Stromtrooper came up behind them. The first trooper opened fire, killing the other. Lowering the rifle, the trooper took off their helmet

“Are you all right?” Lucy asked

“Fine,” Alex grunted as she helped J’onn up “J’onn J’onzz, Lucy Lane” she introduced

“Why are you helping us?” J’onn demanded, blaster at the ready

“Because it’s the right thing to do,” Lucy answered “this armor, the Empire…it’s _wrong_ ,” she shook her head “I never believed that the Jedi were plotting to overthrow the Republic”

J’onn studied her for a long moment, even as another explosion shook the base

“J’onn, she helped me escape, we can trust her” Alex urged

J’onn grunted out a non-committal response

“Let’s go” he ordered…

******

Meanwhile outside, Astra was fending off scores of troops, lightsaber buzzing and humming as it sliced through the air. Dispatching the last trooper, she spun around at a presence behind her, freezing at the sight before her

“Kara” she whispered as Kara Zor-El stood behind her, staring

“Aunt Astra?” she whispered.

Both women slowly approached each other in clear disbelief

“You…you…died,” Kara shook her head “everyone died…when the Empire came to Krypton….you died”

Astra shook her head “No,” she explained “I hid, I ran, I knew that the Empire would come after you and your mother to get to me,” she explained “after Order 66 came down I knew that there wasn’t anywhere safe left. Krypton was in the heart of Separatist territory, our government fully supported the CIS,” she reminded the girl “the Empire would not be lenient in their efforts to root out the Jedi amongst us. So…I ran”

Kara shook her head “But… _why_ are you wearing an Imperial uniform?” she demanded

“Oh,” Astra looked down at herself with a sigh “I realized that I could save other Jedi but hiding in plain sight. If the Empire believed that I was one of them, they might turn a blind eye to my actions,” she smirked “in the early days I tried to save as many as I could. These days, I just try to survive”

An explosion made her turn, scowling as an AT-AT bore down at them…

******

“Here! Here!” Lucy ushered Alex and J’onn up the ramp the _Tydirium_

“Where’s Astra?” Alex demanded

“Being popular, I’d imagine” Lucy muttered as she started up the shuttle, Alex leaning over her shoulder, peering intently out the viewport

“There! There she is!” she pointed

“All right, hang on” Lucy maneuvered the shuttle and managed to land it nearby, lowering the ramp

“ASTRA!!” Alex frantically waved as Astra and was that Kara with her? Sprinted towards the shuttle, frantically scrambling up the ramp and into the hold “They’re in! Go! GO!” Alex bellowed

“Everybody hang on!” Lucy ordered as the shuttle quickly breached the atmosphere

“Kara! Hey, you OK?” Alex frantically leaned over Kara, grunting in surprise as Kara frantically hugged her

“I see that you and my niece know each other” Astra remarked

“Niece?” Alex echoed

“Oh, aunt Astra, this is my sister, Alex” Kara introduced eagerly

Astra raised an eyebrow “I see” she remarked as the shuttle shook from an impact

“Uh-oh” Alex groaned. Getting up, she climbed into the cockpit, scowling at the image of the Star Destroyer bearing down on them…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, so here's my thinking relating Astra's backstory. Krypton was neutral in the Clone Wars, despite supporting the Separatists, so Kryptonians fought on both sides, Astra being one of the ones who fought for the Republic and led a contingent of clone troopers. She survived Order 66 and went into hiding knowing that the newly-formed Empire wouldn't care that Krypton was neutral. Anyway hope that makes sense


	4. Sins of the Father

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is very short, I don't know why, it just is. Sorry :=(

******

The Star Destroyer was getting frighteningly close

“Here’s where the fun begins” Lucy muttered, putting the shuttle into a hard banking maneuver. The engines whined audibly, the shuttle had been designed to ferry passengers across space, not to outwit TIE fighter pilots

“Give me the controls!” Alex demanded, taking the co-pilot’s seat. Once Lucy gave her control of the shuttle, she put the craft into a sharp dive, aiming directly for the Star Destroyer

“Alex…what are you doing?” Kara asked

“Something stupid” Alex muttered

“Alex,” Astra began “the chances of any of us surviving a head-on assault with a Star Destroyer are—”

“Never tell me the odds!” Alex interrupted

Astra scowled at the back of her head “Corillians!” she spat disdainfully as the shuttle suddenly skimmed over the bridge of the Star Destroyer.

******

Onboard the _Black Mercy_ Lillian Luthor scowled

“Where are they?!” she demanded

“Ma’am, apologies, ma’am, but….the shuttle’s disappeared from our scopes” one officer apologized

Lillian glowered at the officer

“Where…are…they?” she demanded slowly

“I…don’t know, ma’am,” he stammered out in a frightened tone “I’m sorry” he apologized, almost as soon as he finished speaking, he began to choke and gag, gasping for breath as he clawed at his throat. Letting out one final, desperate gurgle for air, he suddenly slumped over his console, dead

“Apology accepted, Lieutenant” Lillian remarked coldly…

******

Unbeknownst to the crew of the Star Destroyer, the _Tydirium_ wasn’t very far. In fact the shuttle was _beneath_ the belly of the beast, just under one of the engines

“Impressive,” Astra remarked “reckless, stupid, and borderline insane, but impressive”

“Would you expect anything less from a Corrillian?” J’onn wondered

“No,” Astra shrugged “so,” she began, looking between Alex and Kara “sisters, eh?”

“My family took her in after Krypton fell,” Alex explained “we tried to keep her safe, even to the point of my father exposing himself as a Jedi”

Astra hefted the lightsaber “This was your father’s, wasn’t it?” she asked softly

Alex nodded sadly “When the Empire came to our city, he left it behind. Almost like he knew he wasn’t going to come back”

“I’m sorry” Astra said, anything further she intended to say was cut off by a chirp from the console

“That’s our cue,” Alex hopped back into the pilot’s seat “they’ll have to dump their garbage before making the jump to hyperspace, so if we time it right…” the shuttle gently drifted back, merging into the cluster of garbage being jettisoned by the Star Destroyer

“…we’ll float away with the garbage,” Lucy finished “impressive, I never would have thought of that”

“That’s because Stormtroopers aren’t trained for their intelligence,” Astra pointed out “they’re trained for loyalty and blind obedience to the Empire”

“I’m making an effort not to be insulted” Lucy retorted

“Good,” Astra nodded. She turned to J’onn “you’re in command, where to next?”

In answer J’onn pulled up a star chart “Here. Tatooine” he explained as a map of a desert planet orbiting two suns appeared on the screen

“Well then,” Astra sighed “let’s getting going”

And as the shuttle leapt into hyperspace on a random vector, no onboard noticed a small, one-man craft discreetly following amid the garbage. Inside the craft's cramped cockpit, Lillian Luthor smiled cruelly...


	5. Duel in the Dune Sea

******

It would take hours to reach their destination, leaving the occupants of the shuttle bored out of their minds

“What happened to your leg?” Alex asked, suddenly noticing the bleeding wound near Astra’s knee

“Oh a stormtrooper got a lucky shot off,” Astra replied casually, as if she got shot all the time “it’s fine,” she dismissed “I’ve had worse”

“Well, I don’t care,” Alex scowled “that could get infected. Lane, where’s the damn medkit?”

“Upper bunk, portside” Lucy replied as she and Kara hunched over a console, trying to decrypt the data cylinder containing information on Myriad. Quickly finding the medkit Alex moved back over to Astra

“Hold still,” she ordered as she tore open Astra’s pant leg and examined the wound “you got lucky,” she pronounced “it’s only a flesh wound”

“Yes, I know,” Astra remarked as Alex began grabbing hypos of antibiotics “I have had experience in combat before” she added

“Have you?” Alex wondered “I thought Krypton was neutral during the Clone Wars?”

“Officially, we were, even though our government supported the Separatists,” Astra acknowledged “but when it came to individual citizens, some sided with the Republic, others with the Confederacy, and others stayed neutral. I, myself, fought for the Republic. Not out of loyalty, for I had no love for the Republic, but out of a desire to stop the war”

“How does that work?” Alex asked as she began treating the wound

“If the Senate had given into the Separatists demands than the Republic would have fallen into chaos and anarchy,” Astra began “if they continued to fight, then it would have meant civil war without end. It was my hope, albeit naively, that by fighting for the Republic even though I made it no secret that I supported the Separatists that I could help bring both sides to a peaceful resolution, force them to both negotiate instead of slaughtering each other over their silly prides”

“Hmm,” Alex nodded, understanding Astra’s mindset, her own father had fought for the Republic, but privately had admitted that the Separatist cause was just, arguing that the Confederacy, no matter how flawed its government actually was, should have had the right to succeed from the Republic if they so wished “so,” Alex began “if you had no love for the Republic and no love for the Empire, what do you actually care about?”

“Myself,” Astra spat, pulling her now-healed leg back “let me make myself perfectly clear,” she began “I know that the Rebellion—no matter how valiant, no matter how just your fight is—will _fail_ in its goal to bring back the Republic. It’s inevitable. The Republic was flawed from the start, doomed to fall, because of self-serving senators, corrupt leaders, and corporate interests having far too much influence in government. That’s not say that Rebellion will lose the war, oh no, in fact I think—I _know_ —that you’ll win eventually. But once you do, you’ll need to be very careful about whom you choose to lead your ‘new republic’. _Very_ careful”

“Are you saying that the Empire is _better_ than the Republic?” Alex demanded

“No, not at all, far from it,” Astra shook her head “but, remember, the Republic _did_ fall. Perhaps trying to restore what’s been shown to fail isn’t in the galaxy’s best interest. Perhaps…we need something new”

Alex was left to puzzle over Astra’s words as the shuttle exited hyperspace over Tatooine…

******

“We’ve got a problem,” J’onn announced as the shuttle set down on the outskirts of Mos Esley “the hyperdrive’s damaged,” he explained “we must have blown a motivator during the firefights over Cadmus and Daxam”

“So what do we do?” Kara asked

“I’m sure we could find a junk dealer here willing to sell us one” Astra suggested

“Good idea,” J’onn noted “why don’t you go and find one?” he suggested, the sarcasm just _dripping_ from his voice. To her credit, Astra merely smirked

“Why not indeed?” she remarked as she stripped off her uniform jacket, leaving her in the torn pants, boots, and a light, short sleeved undershirt. Tucking the lightsaber into her waistband, she pulled her shirt hem over it and then slung a supply pack over one shoulder. Still smirking, she pressed the release button for the ramp.

As she marched out into the blazing heat and sun of the desert planet, Alex scowled at J’onn and, quickly grabbing a blaster, stormed out after the gray Jedi

“Astra! Wait!” she called out as she stumbled through the sand. Astra turned, smirking

“Miss me already?” she quipped

“I’m coming with you” Alex declared

Astra sighed, and then dropped her supply pack and tossed Alex a canteen of water

“Come on,” she sighed as she slung the pack back over her shoulder “let’s give J’onn time to stew…”

******

The Mos Esiely spaceport was a dizzying hive. Aliens from all over the Galaxy moved to and fro in its crowded, narrow and winding streets. Jawas chattered and tried to both sell and buy various bits of tech off passersby, while droids shuffled alongside their owners, many clearly having trouble as the sand clogged their joints

“So, where are we going to find an Imperial hyperdrive motivator here?” Alex wondered

“We won’t have to,” Astra shrugged “the hyperdrive is working fine, I’d imagine”

Alex stared at her “If its working fine then why did J’onn…” she trailed off, groaning “a test,” she sighed “he’s testing us”

“More specifically, me,” Astra nodded “but, yes, a test. He wants to be sure that I’m not just pretending to help you as a ruse”

“I’d have thought the lightsaber would have been a dead giveaway” Alex muttered

“Possibly, but, last time I checked, the Empire’s official Military Executioner, Lord Vader, also carries a lightsaber,” Astra pointed out “besides, while we may not need a hyperdrive motivator, we do need help decrypting that data cylinder,” she gestured around the marketplace “I’m sure we’ll be able to find a slicer competent in Imperial cryptography”

“…who’ll probably try to murder us and then sell the information back to the Empire” Alex muttered cynically

“My, what faith you have,” Astra drawled. She frowned at Alex “you don’t believe in the Force do you?” she mused

Alex sighed “Look, I’ve been from one end of the Galaxy to the other all my life; I’ve seen some pretty freaky stuff. But an….invisible force that guides our actions? Determines what our destiny will be? No,” she shook her head “I don’t believe in that”

“Is that because of your father’s death?” Astra probed gently

“If the Force is supposed to be all powerful then how did it let the Empire come to power?” Alex challenged “why didn’t it protect my father?”

“Because the Force isn’t a god,” Astra stated “the Force is only as powerful as those who weld it. When the Republic fell, the Jedi Order fell with it because the Galaxy had become tainted with the power of the dark side, _that’s_ why the Empire came to power. Not because some…god turned a blind eye, but because the beings of the Galaxy had fallen into darkness. That’s what the Empire is, Alex, the dark side of the Force personified, the living embodiment of evil, that’s what killed you father, what killed Kara’s mother, what killed my sister”

Taking a harsh, ragged breath, she turned and continued through the marketplace…

******

Meanwhile, far in the sands, a single craft landed, its lone occupant stepping out, idly shielding her eyes from the suns. Lifting the small, ball-sized seeker droid in her hand she lightly tossed it in the air, watching as it drifted away.

Now, all she had to do was wait…

******

They’d been walking for hours, searching every stall, every doorway, every shop, but so far there were no data slicers to be found, or at the very least none who were willing to do it for free or who wanted anything to do with the Empire

“Come on, there has to be _someone_ on this damn planet who’ll help us!” Alex snarled

“I doubt it,” Astra remarked as she leaned against a wall “this is a homeport for the scum and villainy of the galaxy,” she explained “no one here does anything that doesn’t in some way help them”

“Excuse me,” a young man approached them, looking oddly nervous “uh, I hear you’re looking for a slicer?” he asked

“We might,” Alex acknowledged “who’s asking?”

“Oh, uh, sorry, um, I’m Winn, Winn Schott,” the man introduced himself “uh, a friend of mine mentioned that you were looking for someone who had experience in Imperial code,” he shrugged “well, I do”

“How much?” Astra asked

“Oh no,” he shook his head “no, it’s no charge, just…,” he sighed “look, if this helps the Rebellion, which I think it will, I want in” he stated

Astra smirked, studying him for a moment, and then offered a hand

“Deal” she proclaimed…

******

The droid returned in short order, projecting its findings from a small holoprojector built into its frame. Watching the display, Lillian Luthor smiled…

******

“Hey, how much father is it?” Winn asked “because I’m getting hot here”

“Not much farther,” Alex replied, in the short hour or so it was taking to walk back to the shuttle, she had decided that Winn was trustworthy; he was probably some poor soul who’d been driven into hiding by the Empire, and had wound up here in the furthest reaches of the Outer Rim. Glancing back, she frowned as Astra paused, frowning as if listening for something “hey, Astra, you OK?” she asked

Astra shook her head “Something…,” she looked around before grabbing both Alex and Winn’s hands “come on, we’d better hurry” she ordered, quickly dragging them along

“Hey, slow down!” Winn yelped as the shuttle came into view. The three looked up at a loud, high-pitched whine pierced the air

“Alex, get onboard!” Astra ordered as a small craft suddenly streaked overhead

“What? Why?”

“Get onboard!” Astra ordered as a figure in black suddenly dropped down from the craft. Landing with a puff of sand the figure suddenly launched into the air, somersaulting towards Astra, a lightsaber suddenly igniting in their hand as they dropped down. Grunting, Astra feinted to the side and ignited her own blade, deflecting the first blow

“ ** _GET ONBOARD!!!_** ” she ordered as she dueled with the mysterious Forcer-user. Gasping, Alex tugged on Winn’s hand

“Come on, let’s go!” sprinting the last few feet to the shuttle, she ushered Winn up the ramp and then followed him

“What the hell is going on?!” J’onn demanded

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Alex muttered “Lucy! Start the take-off sequence!” she ordered

“But—” Kara objected

“I know, Kara! I know!” Alex sighed as the shuttle lifted off the ground. Leaning over Lucy’s shoulder, Alex pointed to the two figures dueling in the sands “get us as close them as you can” she ordered

“Roger” Lucy muttered, tilting and dipping the craft until it was effectively on top of Astra and the other figure

“Right,” priming the shuttle’s weapons, Alex took aim, firing at the sand around the two Force-users, forcing them to break apart “lower the ramp!” Alex ordered. Seeing her opportunity, Astra leapt up, easily landing on the ramp and scurrying up it to stumble into the cabin

“Go!” Kara ordered

“Hold on!” Lucy primed the engines, the shuttle lurching forward

“Thanks,” Astra panted as she sat up. She glanced at J’onn “has the hyperdrive miraculously repaired itself?” she wondered sarcastically

J’onn smirked “We made repairs while you were gone” he nodded

“Good,” Astra grunted as she climbed to her feet “now then, since I’ve been proven trustworthy, we need to make it to the rendezvous point”

“She’s right, J’onn,” Alex sighed “if Myriad is as dangerous as our intel suggests then its bigger than all of us”

J’onn nodded “I think you’re right” he mused

******

Down on Tatooine, Lillian scowled as she extinguished her lightsaber. She had been so close!


	6. Reawakening

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just saw "The Force Awakens" yesterday, got the creative jucies flowing again, so, we're back to a galaxy far, far away! :=)

******

Alex frowned as she examined Astra out of the corner of her eye. The other woman sat leaning against one of the bulkheads, her still-sore leg propped up on an empty supply crate as she stared out of the small, narrow viewport at the swirling blues and whites of hyperspace.

Alex found herself caught, mesmerized at how the swirling lights of hyperspace played across Astra’s features. In one moment they enhanced her cheekbones, making her seem harsher, stoic, and then the next moment the light would change and make her seem softer

“Something you wanted, Alex?” Astra suddenly asked, turning to face the young woman

“Sorry” Alex apologized, feeling her face heat up at having been caught staring

“What’s on your mind?” Astra wondered, chuckling at Alex’s surprised expression “I don’t need the Force to know that there’s something bothering you,” she noted. She put her leg down and then patted the bench invitingly “come join me,” she invited “I could use the company”

Awkwardly, Alex sat down next to her, resting her head against the bulkhead

“You’re tired,” Astra noted “sleep, you could use it. We’re still along ways away from our destination”

“How do you know that?” Alex wondered

Astra smirked

“I don’t need the Force to tell that J’onn is a cautious man bordering on paranoia,” she chuckled “he’s probably going to make a dozen more hyperspace jumps before we even reach the right sector, much less your base of operations,” she reached out, gently brushing some of Alex’s hair back from her face “sleep” she repeated as Alex felt her eyes grow heavy and a peaceful darkness surround her…

******

_Lightening crashed overhead, the rain falling in virtual sheets, turning the ground into thick, cloying puddles of mud._

_Alex looked around, watching a troop of Stormtroopers marched through the mud, the mud soiling their once-pristine armor. No, she realized, not stormtroopers…clone troopers. This was the Clone Wars._

_Edging closer, she watched as the clones suddenly stopped as one held up a HoloNet communicator. The tiny, flickering image of a figure in a long robe appearing from the palm-sized device_

_“Execute Order 66” the familiar gravely rasp of Emperor Palatine ordered_

_“It will be done, My Lord” the trooper acknowledged as the communication ended. Turning, the lead trooper signaled to the rest of his troops, the clones suddenly raising their blaster rifles and taking aim at the lone Jedi—a figure in a long, dark green cloak—standing a few feet away. The Jedi tensed, idly flicking back the edge of their cloak as the clones primed their blasters…_

_Then, in a whirl of motion, the Jedi suddenly leapt into action, lightsaber igniting in a brilliant green as their hood flew back, reveling long dark hair with a prominent streak of white in it._

_Astra, Alex realized as the Grey Jedi_ flew _right into the middle of the squadron of clones, lightsaber buzzing as she easily cut through them with frightening ease._

_As the last trooper fell to the ground, dead, Astra suddenly extinguished her lightsaber, falling her knees, panting harshly as she stared, almost lost, at the carnage around her. She suddenly jerked as it struck, clutching at her heart as she doubled over_

_“No,” she whispered as she collapsed into the mud, staring up at the sky “Alura…” still panting harshly, she began to tremble, her lightsaber falling out of her hand as she threw her head back and_ screamed _a tide wave of earth, rock, and mud suddenly exploding out from around her form, sweeping up the bodies of the clone troopers as it rose hundreds of feet into the air in a massive circle, expanding out in a virtual_ wall _of earth that suddenly bore down on Alex…_

Gasping, Alex lurched up, panting for breath as she looked around, finding herself still in the back of the shuttle.

Kara, Winn, and Lucy were all asleep on the two benches opposite Alex’s, while J’onn, up ahead in the cockpit, manned the controls. No one, it seemed, had noticed her jerking awake.

“Bad dream?” Astra asked softly. Turning, Alex found herself getting lost in grey-green eyes. Gulping and managing to get a hold of her breathing, Alex took a breath as she found her eyes being drawn to her father’s lightsaber still resting at Astra’s hip

“I want you to teach me” she breathed as she looked back up into haunted grey-green eyes. Astra smiled bitterly, seeming to know what Alex meant.

“I’m probably not the best choice for a teacher” she admitted

“Probably,” Alex agreed as she felt her confidence return, felt a strange sense of urgency settle over her as she looked away from haunting eyes and down at her hands, feeling an almost-desperate sense of urgency settle over her. She _needed_ to know, to understand “…but, right now, you’re all I’ve got” she finished.

Astra smirked as she reached up, gently cupping Alex’s chin and turned her head to look her in the eye

“It won’t be easy,” she began, her thumb idly brushing across Alex’s cheekbone “it won’t be safe, or sane, and once you start down this path, no matter what side you chose, light or dark, there is _no going back_ ,” she warned.

She dropped her hand and then took the lightsaber off of her belt and held it out to Alex

“Knowing that...are you ready to begin?” she asked…


	7. Training

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: upcoming cameo from one of the cutest characters from the entire franchise. And, no, it's not BB-8 :=)

******

The shuttle exited hyperspace after a few more random vectors

“I think all these course changes are going to make me sick,” Astra grumbled as she peered at the planet now rapidly-filling the viewport “that’s…Krypton” she breathed as the planet filled the viewport

“It is,” J’onn nodded grimly “after the Empire exterminated most of the population they took the survivors off-world to use as slave labor,” he explained “the planet’s completely uninhabited, only a small garrison of Stormtroopers were left behind, and when the Alliance moved in we took care of them easily,” he glanced at Astra, smirking humorlessly

“Welcome home, General” he remarked as the shuttle entered the atmosphere…

******

The Rebel base had been built into the old Royal Palace of Kandor, back from when Krypton had been a hereditary monarchy, before the Kryptonian people had staged a coup and established a democratic government with the monarch as a purely ceremonial figurehead.

Once the Clone Wars had ended with the formation of the Empire, the newly-christened Imperial Stormtroopers had stormed the palace, killing the reigning queen, Queen Rhea, and then sacked the palace for anything of value to use to fund the new Imperial war machine, with many priceless Kryptonian artifacts soon finding themselves in the hands of loyal members of Palaptine’s new regime as gifts for their service to the Empire.

Landing on one of the hidden landing pads in a former courtyard, the motley group of three Rebel fighters, one slicer, one treasonous Imperial Stormtrooper, and one Grey Jedi exited down the ramp, where a contingent of Rebel troopers awaited them

“General J’onzz,” one woman saluted as she approached them “it’s good to see you alive, sir” she noted

“Thank you, Colonel Vasquez” J’onn nodded.

The woman, Colonel Vasquez, frowned at Astra and Lucy questioningly

“Prisoners, sir?” she asked, glancing back at J’onn

“Allies, Colonel,” J’onn corrected. He gestured to Lucy “Lucy Lane, former Stormtrooper and daughter of General Sam Lane,” he introduced “she has information about the inner workings of the Empire, information that we could desperately use, Colonel”

“I see,” Colonel Vasquez nodded “and, her, sit?” she asked, nodding towards Astra

“General Astra In-Ze,” Astra introduced herself “formerly of Krypton,” she gestured to the courtyard around them “used to play here as a kid as a matter of fact” she remarked

Colonel Vasquez raised an eyebrow

“Thought you were all dead,” she remarked as she held out a hand “nice to have you on our side” she greeted as the two shook hands

“Just glad to be alive, Colonel” Astra replied as a sudden clatter broke the air

“Hey! Watch it!”

Turning, the group watched as a little blue and white astromech droid rapidly rolled towards them, beeping and chirping excitedly as it rolled up to Astra, who barked out a disbelieving laugh as she saw the little droid

“R2-D2,” she breathed as she crouched down to his level “keeping out of trouble, I see” she chuckled, giving the little droid a pat on the head

R2 beeped and chirped excitedly

“Keeping something for me?” Astra asked, frowning “what’s that?” she asked. In answer a slot on the droid’s head opened, a long metal cylinder sliding out. Slowly, Astra took the object, staring at it almost reverently

“Is that…?” Alex asked as she recognized the Kryptonese glyphs on the object

“My old lightsaber,” Astra confirmed as she ignited the weapon, the blade shimmering into existence in brilliant green “still in working order, I see,” she commented as she gave the weapon an experimental swing, the blade buzzing as it sliced through the air. She turned back to R2, smiling as she gave the little droid a pat on the head again “thank you, R2,”

R2 beeped and chirped in response, earning a laugh from Astra as the little droid ambled off

“So,” Astra began as she turned back to the others “shall we begin?”

“Right,” J’onn nodded “Colonel, this is Mr. Schott, I’d like you to give him full access to our cryptography section,” he explained as he nodded to Winn “Ms. Lane,” he turned to Lucy “how good are you at Imperial code?”

“I manage” Lucy nodded

J’onn nodded

“Good enough,” he pointed at Winn “work with him,” he ordered “Lt. Zor-El,” he turned to Kara “work with them, keep an eye on her” he nodded towards Lucy. Sparing Alex and Astra a critical glance he continued on down the corridor after the others, leaving Alex and Astra alone

“Well then,” Astra began as she smiled at Alex “shall we begin?”

******

The room was large, the ceiling and walls covered with elaborate frescos and murals, now long faded without maintenance and regular upkeep. In its heyday it may have been a grand ballroom or dinning hall for the Kryptonian monarchy, but now, like the rest of the palace, it was old and covered with dust. The dim bulbs flickered, giving off only a dim light.

Alex took a cautious step into the center of the room as Astra stood opposite her. Smirking, the Kryptonian held up a blaster pistol

“This is a weapon,” she began “it is meant to kill your enemy, nothing more, nothing less,” she explained as she tossed the blaster away and held up her lightsaber “to the untrained eye, this is also a weapon. But it is not. It takes far more skill than just good eyesight to use a lightsaber,” she ignited the blade and assumed a pose, gesturing for Alex to do the same.

Awkwardly, Alex ignited her father’s lightsaber and awkwardly copied Astra’s pose

“To be able to use a lightsaber requires far more skill than a blaster,” Astra explain “for example, the blade has no mass, no weight, if you couldn’t see the blade you wouldn’t be able to tell whether it was ignited or not”

“Right” Alex nodded, that one was easy

Astra smirked

"You can't be afraid of a lightsaber" she continued

"I'm not afraid" Alex scoffed

Astra's smirk widened, slowly, widening into a dark, grim expression

“Oh...you will be” she declared

With a grunt, she suddenly leapt towards Alex, lightsaber slicing through the air as she charged…


	8. Preparations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter EIGHT! Enjoy! :=)

******

Lady Lillian Luthor fell to the floor gasping for breath, absently rubbing at her throat as she choked and panted harshly for air. Feeling some of her strength returning, she looked up at her Master

“When I found you, half-dead on Krypton I sensed great potential in you,” Lord Vader continued “I molded you, forged you, and now, as repayment for my training you _willfully disobey me!_ ”

Grunting, Lillian felt herself suddenly being bodily picked up and flung across the room, pinned to the wall

“Astra In-Ze is of great importance to our plans,” Vader continued “both she and the rebel who Astra helped escape from Cadmus. They are _not to be harmed_!!” Vader released her, immune to her pained groan as she dropped to the floor “yes,” he mused “the girl is very important”

“The girl is just another rebel,” Lillian panted out “useless, weak”

Vader turned to her

“No,” he stated “she is the daughter of Jeremiah Danvers. The Force is strong with her, as it is with Astra. Individually, they are weak, unsure of themselves. But together…together they are more powerful then even they can imagine. Perhaps…even stronger than the Emperor himself” he proclaimed

“All the more reason that I should kill them” Lillian vowed

“No,” Vader suddenly ignited his lightsaber, the glowing blade suddenly at level with Lillian’s throat “if we could _turn_ them, convert them both to the dark side of the Force”

He extinguished the lightsaber

“Find them,” he ordered “and I want them alive!” he warned

Lillian nodded weakly

“Yes, Master” she panted out…

******

Alex grunted as she awkwardly blocked Astra’s next blow, managing a weak parry to Astra’s lunge

“You’re expecting the battle to be fair!” Astra snarled as the blades crashed together, crackling and sparking “you should know by now that a battle is _never fair_!” with a grunt, she suddenly shifted onto one leg, easily kicking Alex’s lightsaber out of her hand, catching it and reigniting it as it tumbled through the air before scissoring both blades at Alex’s throat, all in one fluid movement.

Alex froze, suddenly wondering if Astra might just kill her, or at the very least, wound her to make a point

“Do you hate the Empire?” Astra asked slowly

“They killed my father, of course I hate them!” Alex spat angrily

Astra suddenly extinguished both lightsabers

“Hate leads to vengeance,” she explained as she stepped back “vengeance leads to suffering, suffering leads to pain. And pain…leads to the dark side of the Force. You need to let go of your anger, of your hate. Then, and _only_ then, can you achieve your true potential,”

She held out Jeremiah’s lightsaber to Alex

“This lightsaber is yours now,” she explain “cherish it, respect it. Don’t lose it, don’t get it wet, and, above all else, _don’t let anyone see it_ ,”

Alex took the lightsaber back with a newfound respect. It was more than just a link to her father, it was the start of a new beginning she realized, the beginning of the return of the Jedi.

Straightening her spine, she reassumed the pose that Astra had first taken and ignited the blade

“Good,” Astra nodded “now, let’s begin…”

******

“Anything?” Lucy asked as she leaned over Winn’s shoulder, staring intently at the screen

“No,” Winn answered “this thing is really encrypted, whoever did it was a genius. And will you stop that?” he demanded, giving her a slight nudge “you’re making me nervous”

“Sorry,” Lucy apologized as she stepped back, feeling every eye in the room on her as she moved. She had removed her armor long before they’d landed on Krypton, stowing it away on the shuttle, but word traveled fast, in what seemed like minutes the entire base, if not the entire damned Rebel Alliance now knew that there was an Imperial stormtrooper in their midst, and Lucy wasn’t sure that someone wouldn’t try to murder her in her sleep as revenge against whatever grudge or grievance they held—of which there were no doubt many—with the Empire.

She glowered at a few of the gawkers and then went back to watching the code scroll down the screen. She trusted Kara, and Winn, and Alex and Astra, even J’onn. But this lot? Not as far as she could throw them.

She glanced over at Kara, who was working with a star map with the droid R2-D2. Kara looked up and seemed to suddenly notice the tension in the room, giving Lucy a small smile.

Smiling back, Lucy turned back the screen, suddenly spotting something in the code…

******

Alex took a breath as she watched as the large, man-sized vase in the corner wobbled harder

“Concentrate,” Astra urged quietly from behind her “remember, you can feel the Force _flowing_ through you.” she reminded the young woman as the vase wobbled harder, actually jumping up somewhat “easy,” Astra warned “don’t force it, let it come naturally,”

The vase suddenly shot upwards, exploding into hundreds of tiny shards in mid-air, the shards flying up to collide with the ceiling before raining down onto the two women

“Well,” Astra began as she idly brushed the ceramic off of her hair and shoulders “I’d say that you’ve got the basic principle down” she drawled as the doors suddenly swung open

“Guys! Winn got in!” Kara exclaimed. She paused and assessed the noticeable damage done the room “er…what happened in here?” she asked

“Training” both women answered casually…

******

“Cadmus?” Astra asked “Myriad is back on Cadmus?”

“Looks like” Winn nodded

“Well,” Astra scowled “that was a waste of a trip” she grumbled

“So, what does Myriad _do_ exactly?” Alex asked

“Mind control” J’onn answered grimly

“ ‘Mind control’?” Alex repeated

“The system works by a networked series of satellites,” J’onn explained, pulling up a holographic diagram of Cadmus Base over the operations table “now, according to the information that Mr. Schott and Ms. Lane have decoded, it looks like the system is controlled from the planet’s surface”

“The satellites operate on a hyperspace carrier wave,” Lucy picked up “right now its still in the testing phase, but given enough time the Empire could broadcast this signal to the entire galaxy”

“Bringing billions of sentients to their knees,” Alex nodded grimly “how do we stop it?”

“Cadmus Base is powered by geo-thermal energy,” Astra explained, adjusting the hologram “that’s why the Empire chose that particular planet, the volcanic activity provides more than enough energy to fuel Palaptine’s war machine”

“Destroying Myriad should prove to be fairly simple,” J’onn picked “we destabilize the thermal regulators at the base’s power plant. Once that’s done, the built up pressure will flood the planet’s surface, destroying both Myriad’s control system and the base itself”

“The hardest part is dealing with the satellites in orbit,” Winn nodded “I mean, if we try to attack them…”

“….the Empire could just turn Myriad on and turn our own pilots against us” Kara finished

“And plus we can’t just walk in,” J’onn noted “we barely got a team in last time, doing it a second time…” he trailed off

“I can get us in” Lucy proclaimed

“How?” Alex asked “they know that you’re a traitor, they’ll probably just shoot us down from orbit, forget letting us land”

“No,” Lucy shook her head “there’s a small garrison here,” she adjusted the hologram, bringing the planet’s moon into focus “on Cadmus’ moon of Corbin”

“Right,” Astra nodded along “it’s basically a listening post, keeping an eye on transmissions entering or leaving the system”

“How does that help us?”

“If we send out a false signal,” Lucy began “something enticing, like…say an Alliance ship in distress…”

“…they might leave to investigate,” Alex nodded “but, how do we stop them from communicating with the base itself?”

“I can fix that,” Winn nodded “actually, I can do both” he admitted

“All right,” J’onn nodded, giving the small group a critical eye “let’s get to work, people” he ordered…


	9. The Ship That Made the Kessel Run in Less Than Twelve Parsecs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning, cameos by a familiar pair of smugglers, enjoy :=)

******

“Lady Luthor,” the commandant of Cadmus Base saluted as she approached “it is an honor, My Lady” he proclaimed

“Begin preparations to repel a full-scale assault” Lillian ordered in reply

“My Lady?” the commandant questioned

“Are you questioning my orders?” Lillian growled out

The commandant paled and then cleared his throat

“Begging your pardon, My Lady,” he began “but…if I may be so bold as to say that Cadmus Base is nigh impenetrable. It was only with the treasonous actions of General Astra and Stormtrooper TX-1138 that the rebel was able to escape at all”

“I have reason to believe that the Rebellion is planning on staging an assault on Cadmus to try and stop the activation of Myriad,” Lillian explained “now, begin the preparations, and expedite the activation of Myriad,” she paused “or must I pass on your complaints to Lord Vader?” she wondred

The commandant snapped to attention

“No, ma’am,” he said “we’ll double our efforts”

“Good,” Lillian nodded “wise decision, General Lane” she praised…

**

“Are you sure your contact is trustworthy?” Alex wondered as she looked around the crowded cantina, watching as aliens from all over the galaxy crowed and shoved one another

“He’ll show” Astra assured her as she sipped her drink, watching the door as another sketchy character suddenly came up them

“Wanna buy some stims?” he asked

“You don’t want sell us stims” Astra countered calmly

“I don’t want to sell you stims” the dealer replied dutifully

“You want to go home and rethink your life” Astra continued

“I want to go home and rethink my life” standing up, he abruptly left

Alex snorted

“You really need to teach me how to do that” she chuckled

“Careful,” Astra warned “remember, Jedi, even grey Jedi, don’t use the Force for personal gain,” she reminded the younger woman as two more figures walked in and sat down in a dark corner

“That’s them” Astra proclaimed. She swiftly got up, Alex quietly following as they approached the table

“Well, well,” the Human proclaimed “look who it is, Astra In-Ze,” he chuckled “been a long time” he remarked

“Han Solo,” Astra chuckled “I was sure that you’d be dead by now,” she remarked. She smirked as the Human’s Wookiee companion suddenly got up, growling as it approached Astra, swiftly pulling her into a hug “hi, Chewie” she chuckled as she sat down, Alex quietly following

“So, what’s bringing you all the way out here” Han asked

“We need transport,” Astra explained “myself, the girl here, and about four more, plus one droid”

Han whistled

“Quite the entourage,” he remarked “where to?”

“Cadmus”

Han coughed, choking on his drink

“What?!” he demanded as the Wookiee, Chewie, growled “you’re telling me,” Han grumbled as he turned back to Astra “Cadmus is in the heart of Imperial territory,” he reminded her “it’s a testing facility for Imperial weapons. I don’t know about you, In-Ze, but I like not being used as target practice!”

Astra dropped a long silver rod on the table. Han Solo slowly leaned forward

“Is that…?” he began

“One of the Lost Scrolls of Rao,” Astra nodded “its worth is…priceless, even more so on the black market,” she explained “certainly more than enough to pay off your debt with Jabba the Hutt,”

Han frowned and then smirked as Chewie growled

“Watch your mouth!” Astra snapped “there’s a lady present” she gestured to Alex

“Excuse me” Han swiftly stood up, leading Chewie away where the two of them began arguing

“Interesting friends you have” Alex noted

“Makes life more exciting,” Astra commented as Han and Chewie came back “well?” she asked

“We’ll take you as far as Harper’s Pass,” Han explained “no farther”

Astra nodded

“It’ll do” she agreed

“Yeah, yeah,” Han muttered “docking bay 42” he explained, reaching for the scroll, only for Astra to swiftly pull it back

“ _After_ we get to Harper’s Pass” she stated

“Hey, come on, Astra,” Han chuckled “would I try to cheat you?”

Chewie grumbled

“That doesn’t count!” Han snapped. Shaking his head he stalked out of the cantina with Chewie in tow

“Come on,” Astra stood up “we need to tell the others”

******

“General Lane, your status report?” Lillian asked

“We’ve strengthened the garrison and doubled the guard” General Lane replied

“But…?” Lillian asked

“My Lady,” he began “our scientists tell us that there simply is no way to activate Myriad before the signal reaches full intensity” he explained

Lillian swung out an arm, sweeping the table clear of datapads as she ignited her lighsaber and aimed it at General Lane’s throat

“You will _find a way_ ,” she hissed “or the first test subject to experience it will be you, General!” she extinguished the blade “now go!” she ordered as General Lane swiftly sprinted out of the room…

******

Docking bay 42 only had one ship in dock when Alex and the others arrived, an old Corellian YT-1300 light freighter

“Will this thing actually fly?” Alex wondered as Han Solo led them inside

“It’s the ship that made Kessel run in under twelve parsecs” he boasted

“Last time we met it was fourteen parsecs” Astra pointed out

Han merely grumbled out something unintelligible and no doubt impolite

“Strap yourselves in,” he ordered as he left them in the main cargo hold and entered the cockpit “I tell you, Chewie,” he grumbled “every time we meet Astra we always end up regretting it”


	10. The Old Master

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update! Chapter TEN! Enjoy :=)

******

Astra took a breath as she tried to meditate in a relatively quiet corner of the ship. She was aware of Alex’s eyes on her, assessing her, studying her, while Kara, Lucy and Winn all tried to pick apart the data cylinder, trying to uncover any more information pertaining to Myriad, while J’onn looked on, senses alert for any possible threat, even though Astra knew that Han and Chewie wouldn’t harm any of them, Han was far more noble than he thought himself.

Pushing past these distractions, Astra felt herself being… _drawn_ somewhere. _Opening her eyes she found herself in a simple mud hut, the furnishings plain and simple, most likely scavenged from other sources and then repurposed. Reaching out, Astra put her hand on the wall, unsurprised when the limb passed through the hardened earth._

_“Finally come, you have”_

_Turning at the voice behind her, Astra stopped at the small, green figure before her_

_“Master Yoda,” she acknowledged “why did you bring me here?” she asked_

_The old Jedi master laughed_

_“Bring you here I did not,” he answered “come yourself you have” he explained_

_“Why?” Astra demanded “why would I do that?”_

_The old master assessed her, chuckling_

_“Troubled you are, daughter of In-Ze,” he noted “great conflict I sense in you”_

__

_“I’m about to go back to the planet I was nearly killed escaping from,” Astra explained “you bet I’m conflicted”_

__

_Again the old master chuckled_

__

_“Clouded, your senses are,” he noted “lost your purpose, you have”_

__

_“What purpose?” Astra scoffed as she ‘sat’ down in front of him “what other purpose do I have but to survive?” she wondered_

__

_“Arg,” the old Jedi groaned in clear annoyance “not living you are,” he noted “too lonely,” he nodded to himself “yes, take another apprentice you must,” he instructed “great potential, she has,” he nodded “defeat the Emperor himself, she may”_

__

_Astra frowned_

__

_“Alex?” she asked “I agree that she’s strong with the Force,” she began “but defeating Palpatine…” she trailed off as Yoda held up a hand_

__

_“Corrupted by the dark side your old padawan has become” he explained_

__

_“Lillian?” Astra breathed “of course, the attacker in the desert” she sighed_

__

_“Lost entirely she is,” Yoda nodded “stop her you must”_

__

_“How?!” Astra demanded “how am I suppose to stop her? Tell me that?”_

__

_Yoda shook his head sadly_

__

_“Strong with the Force, Alexandra Danvers is,” he reiterated “great love for you she has”_

__

_“Love,” Astra scoffed “Jedi aren’t suppose to fall in love” she muttered_

__

_“Ah, but not of the Order are you,” Yoda reminded her “not bound by the Code,” he smiled “perhaps flawed the Code is, too rigid”_

__

_Astra looked at him sharply_

__

_“I never thought that I’d live to see the day that you would admit that the Jedi Code was flawed,” she remarked. She shook her head “she doesn’t love me,” she spat “and, even if she did, why would she? I’m not worthy of anyone’s love”_

__

_“Wrong you are,” Yoda noted “not coincidence that Kara Zor-El’s sister is she,” he noted “brought together you were,” he frowned then nodded “yes, train her you must, depends on it, the galaxy does,” he smiled at her “love her you will” he proclaimed_

__

“We’re making good time,”

__

Astra blinked as she found herself back onboard the _Millennium Falcon_ as Han Solo stuck his head around the corner

__

“Should be there in about an hour or so” he continued

__

“Good to hear” J’onn commented

__

“Relax,” Han chuckled “the _Falcon_ will get us there, don’t worry”

__

“It’s not the ship he’s worried about” Astra explained

__

Han stepped into the room and assessed J’onn

__

“You’re Martian, aren’t you?” he asked “yeah, I’ve met your people before. Nice folks”

__

J’onn nodded slowly

__

“We were” he agreed softly

__

“Yeah,” Han nodded “you were” he agreed grimly…

__

******

__

An hour later, the ship exited hyperspace near Harper’s Pass

__

“Uh-oh” Han remarked as a fleet of Star Destroyers hung in orbit over the planet

__

“We planned for this,” Lucy commented as she reached for the comm. “just tell them that you’re delivering supplies to the planet’s surface” she instructed

__

“ _Unidentified freighter, state your name and your destination_ ”

__

“Uh, this is the freighter _Lucky Star_ , we’re delivering parts and technical crews to the planet’s surface” Han responded

__

There was a long, agonizing pause, then...

__

“ _Proceed on your current vector,_ ” the Imperial replied “ _do not deviate from your present course or you will be fired upon_ ”

__

“Understood,” Han closed the channel and turned to look at Astra and then at Chewie “like I said, we always end up regretting it” he muttered…

__

******

__

Harper’s Pass was a dizzying hive of spacers from all over the galaxy, species that Alex barely recognized hurried back and forth as she and the other stepped off the ramp of the _Millennium Falcon_

__

“As we agreed,” Astra held out the scroll to Han “try not to lose it, huh?” she smirked

__

“This is that last time I get involved with the Rebellion,” Han swore as he and Astra shook hands “the last time!” he swore as Astra joined Alex and the others

__

“Now what?” J’onn asked

__

“Find safe passage to Cadmus” Astra replied as they made their way into the teeming mass of bodies…

__


	11. The Events at Harper's Pass

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter ELEVEN! A bit short, still enjoy :=)

******

Lillian Luthor opened her eyes and looked around the silence of her meditation sphere, suddenly animated as she reached for the small commutations console

“ _Yes, My Lady?_ ” General Lane asked

“General, dispatch a full strike team to Harper’s Pass,” Lillian ordered “you will find your daughter and Astra In-Ze there. Bring them all to me alive”

There was a brief, infinitesimal pause

“ _Yes, My Lady_ ” General Lane replied

As the channel closed, Lillian frowned. General Lane’s affection for his daughter, the treasonous stormtrooper, was becoming problematic, very problematic indeed…

******

“Cadmus, no go, forbidden,” the pilot proclaimed in broken Basic “Empire there, not go”

“Well, that’s the last one,” Winn sighed as the alien got up and swiftly left “no one else will even talk to us anymore” he added tiredly as he sipped his drink, something that glowed with a soft blue light. The group had decided to take a rest at one of the planet’s _numerous_ bars in the hopes of eventually coming across a pilot who would be willing to make the trip, but apparently word had gotten out and fewer and fewer pilots were willing to talk to them, much less even hear what they had to say.

“That’s not good,” Astra grumbled “the more people who know where we want to go means more people to tell the Empire where we are in the hopes of getting paid”

“Agreed,” Lucy nodded “we need to find a way off this planet and fast” she warned as a loud crash suddenly broke the air. A _very_ tall and very large and very _angry_ -looking Trandoshan suddenly stormed into the bar, shoving a familiar Human figure to the floor

“ _Solo!_ ” the reptilian snarled as he marched forward, easily grabbing Han Solo and holding him up off the floor

“Look,” the smuggler grunted out “I was just on my way to pay Jabba! Honest!”

“This fellow bothering you, Han?” Astra asked as she walked up to the pair. The Trandoshan’s head swung in her direction, eyes narrowing

“ _Go away, Human,_ ” he rasped out “ _this doesn’t concern you_ ”

“Ah, but actually, it does,” Astra countered “the man you’re currently dangling off the floor is an old friend of mine,” she explained “true he doesn’t pay his debts on time, when he even pays them that is, and yes, he’s tried to swindle…well practically the entire galaxy to be honest”

“Not helping, Astra!” Han choked out

“…but still,” Astra continued as if he hadn’t said anything “I consider him a friend and I won’t see him harmed. So, please, I’m only going to ask once. _Put him down_ ”

The Trandoshan’s eyes narrowed before he unceremoniously flung Han aside

“ _Satisfied?_?” he rasped out

“Much,” Astra replied as the Trandoshan bore down on her, suddenly looming over her. She craned her neck back as far as possible and looked the alien in the eye “yes? Can I help you?” she asked mildly

The alien chuckled

“ _Jabba likes pretty things_ ” he rasped, clawed hand reaching out towards her face

“I warn you,” Astra began “touch me and you’ll be pulling back a stump,”

The alien chuckled as his clawed hand closed around the streak of white in Astra’s hair. With a whoosh she suddenly ignited her lightsaber, the green glow of the blade nearly blinding in the dim and dank bar, as it sliced through the alien’s limb with frightening ease before Astra extinguished the blade just as quickly as she’d ignited it.

Howling in agony as he clutched his burned stump of a limp, the Trandoshan staggered out of the bar, a pair of fully-armored stormtroopers bursting in as soon as he left

“ _Check everywhere_ ” one ordered as Astra quickly made her way back to the table. Han in tow

“Come on” Astra urged as the group as the others, plus Han, followed her out into the busy street

“Uh-oh” Kara muttered as they all spotted more Stormtroopers at various places in the street, questioning passersbys and shopkeepers

“We need to move quickly” Astra hissed

“ _There they are! Stop them!_ ”

“…or not,” Astra grumbled as several stormtroopers surrounded them “any ideas?” she wondered idly

“I’ve got one” Lucy snarled suddenly gripping one trooper’s arm and flipping him into the ground, quickly stealing his blaster and opening fire as the others scattered and all hell broke loose…


	12. The Cadmus Run

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter TWELVE! Enjoy! :=)

******

Alex yelped and ducked behind a wall as blaster fire lit up the marketplace

“I need a weapon!” she snarled as Astra dropped down next to her. Grunting, Astra yanked the lightsaber off Alex’s belt and thrust it into her hands

“You have one! Use it!” she ordered as she ignited her own lightsaber and flew out from behind the wall, blaster bolts ricocheting off the blade as she swung it at every stormtrooper who tried to get close to her. Suddenly dropping to one knee, Astra threw out her arms; the dozens of stormtroopers surrounding her were suddenly flung back hundreds of feet into the air.

Standing up, Astra smirked at Alex before she turned and suddenly leapt through the air, disappearing amongst the crowd of panicking civilians.

Now alone but emboldened, Alex took a breath and ignited her own lightsaber before leaping into the fray, startled stormtroopers rearing back, unsure of how to handle this new threat…

******

General Lane stepped out of the landing craft and surveyed the battlefield that the marketplace had become

“ _General,_ ” one Stormtrooper approached him “ _we’ve found the rebels, but they’ve scattered into the marketplace. They appear to be heavily armed_ ”

“Is my daughter with them?” Lane asked

“ _Yes sir, TX-1138 was seen with the rebels,_ ” the trooper nodded “ _two of the rebels also appear to be in the possession of Jedi weapons_ ”

Lane frowned

“Lightsabers?” he asked

“ _It appears so, sir_ ”

Lane’s frown deepened as he lost himself in memory for a moment; he had been a young officer during the Clone Wars, one of many who had never trusted the Jedi, that group of strange, child-stealing mystics who believed in some ancient and bizarre tradition. Shaking himself back to reality, he turned to the trooper

“Find my daughter and bring her to me alive,” he ordered “take the rest to Lady Luthor”

“ _But, sir,_ ” the trooper protested “ _our orders are to bring_ all _the prisoners to Lady Luthor for questioning_ ”

“I’m well aware of what Lady Luthor’s orders are,” Lane growled out “and I am prepared to take full responsibility. Now _find my daughter!!!_ ”

The trooper nodded

“ _Yes sir!_ ”

******

Alex panted for breath as she awkwardly blocked the blaster bolts, ducking behind a half-demolished wall as she did, a barrage of blaster bolts quickly reducing the wall to rubble, forcing her to sprint across the now-burning marketplace, dodging blaster fire all the while. She may have been strong with the Force according to Astra but she still had very little skill with a lightsaber. As if to illustrate this point, a blaster bolt suddenly caught her in the hand, causing her to lose her grip on the lightsaber.

“ _Don’t move, you rebel scum!_ ” the stormtrooper swiftly approached her, weapon at the ready. A large blaster bolt suddenly struck him in the chest, hurtling him back about twenty feet.

Twisting around, Alex blinked at the image of Lucy approaching her, a stolen blaster rifle in her hands

“You OK?” she asked as she offered Alex a hand

“Yeah,” wincing and still cradling her injured hand, Alex awkwardly recovered the lightsaber and allowed Lucy to pull her upright

“ _TX-1138! Stand down!_ ”

A group of stormtroopers swiftly surrounded them as Imperial landing craft glided overhead, the firefight quickly dying down as the craft landed and disgorged their compliment of stormtroopers, which quickly took up defensive positions, roughly arresting or out and out shooting many of the aliens in the marketplace. Looking around, Alex could see J’onn and Kara had already been rounded up and were being led at blasterpoint towards a waiting shuttle, as was Han Solo.

Astra, Chewie, Winn, and R2-D2 were nowhere to be seen, and Alex hoped that they were alright as she felt a blaster being shoved into her back

“ _Move!_ ”

Stumbling forward slightly, Alex looked up in surprise as General Sam Lane himself approached them

“ _General,_ ” one stormtrooper saluted “ _she had this on her, sir_ ” he held out Jeremiah’s lightsaber to the General. General Lane took it and studied it for a moment before absently passing it to another trooper

“Give it to Lady Luthor,” he ordered as he assessed the two women, his gaze automatically shifting towards Lucy “Lucy” he nodded at her

“Dad,” Lucy nodded back “how’s life?” she drawled “still massacring dozens of innocent sentients in the name of Palpatine?”

A muscle in General Lane’s jaw visibly twitched

“Put the rebel with the other prisoners,” he ordered “put TX-1138 onboard my shuttle”

“ _Yes, sir, at once,_ ” another trooper saluted “ _move them out!_ ” he ordered…

******

Astra ducked behind a wall, peering out as she watched Alex and Lucy being separated and then led into two different shuttles. She stamped down the natural urge to charge over there and rescue Alex, the urge to take her away from all of this, all the death, the darkness, to take her to some idyllic, green, unspoiled planet and keep her there.

Behind her, Chewie, R2-D2, and Winn all leaned out past her shoulder, trying to see. Chewie growled and moved as if to follow Han

“No, Chewie! No!” Astra hissed “you do that, all you’ll do is get yourself killed!”

“Well, what do we do?” Winn whispered “we can’t just leave them”

Astra frowned

“Chewie,” the Wookiee turned “has the _Falcon_ been impounded yet?” Chewie growled a quiet response “all right then,” she stood up, nodding towards the general direction of the _Millennium Falcon_ “let’s go” she ordered softly…

******

Alex grunted as she shoved into an interrogation chair, the restraints tightly securing her down. She took a breath, steadying herself, hoping that Kara and J’onn were all right, the same for Han and Lucy.

The door suddenly slid open, Lillian Luthor entering the room

“Alexandra Danvers,” she chuckled as she approached the young rebel “we finally meet,” she idly linked her arms behind her back, looking extremely calm and collected “where is Astra?” she asked

“No idea” Alex admitted, which wasn’t a lie

Lillian chuckled

“Now, why don’t I believe you?” she mused. She held out a hand, fingers probing towards Alex’s head. Instantly Alex felt a splitting pain suddenly bloom behind her eyes, a sudden pressure in her head as memories began flying by her mind’s eye without her control or input. Panting harshly, Alex ground her teeth together and tried to resist the strange mental probe.

Suddenly the memories stopped, being replaced by a strange sense of calm. With a grunt, Lillian dropped her hand, scowling

“Impressive,” she noted, her scowl deepening “it seems that we’ll have to rely on more…primitive methods to extract information from you” she remarked as the door slid open again. An Imperial interrogation droid floating in, its various implements all armed and at the ready…

******

“Do…do you know what you’re doing?” Winn wondered as the _Millennium Falcon_ streaked through hyperspace

“Yes,” Astra growled out. She jerked a thumb over her shoulder “go plug R2 into the navicomp,” she ordered “we need to time this just right”

As Winn left the cockpit with the little droid in tow, Chewie gave her a worried glance, grumbling quietly under his breath

“Don’t worry,” Astra assured him as she turned back to the controls “I know what I’m doing….I hope”

******

Alex grunted as she was unceremoniously hurled to the floor of the cell, the door slamming shut behind her

“Alex!”

Kara and J’onn rushed to her side

“Hey, you all right, kid?” Han asked as he helped Kara and J’onn to lift her up onto the bench

“Never better,” she groaned. She frowned at the three blurry people standing over her “where’s Lucy?” she wondered

“We don’t know,” Kara admitted “we haven’t seen her since they captured us all” she explained…

******

Lucy looked up as the door to her cell opened, two stormtroopers and her father entering. General Lane glanced at the troopers

“Leave us” he ordered. Now alone with his daughter he merely assessed her for a long moment. Lucy in turn glanced at the blaster pistol at his hip

“Planning on executing me?” she wondered “I wouldn’t blame you if you were,” she shrugged at his startled expression “after all,” she added “I betrayed you, I betrayed the Empire, I helped the rebellion,” she looked up, looking her father square in the eye “by all rights, you should have executed me back on Harper’s Pass”

“I’m not going to execute you, Lucy” General Lane exclaimed, clearly aghast at the prospect

“Lucy?” she echoed “oh, right that’s my name. But, see, how can that be possible? Stormtroopers don’t have names, we have numbers, we’re just cogs in the machine, an extension of the Emperor’s will, like droids almost,”

She stood up suddenly

“So, I guess that means that I’m a defective droid, doesn’t it?” she mused “so, go on, shoot me,” she challenged “depose of the defect,” she suddenly lunged, snatching the blaster pistol out of the holster and thrust it into Lane’s hand “do it!” she hissed “put the barrel to my head and pull the trigger!”

General Lane raised the pistol, taking aim, his hand notably shaking, before he pulled the trigger…

******

“Winn! Get up here!” Astra ordered “did R2 get the calculations down?” she asked as he sprinted into the cockpit

“Yeah,” he nodded “and if you’re planning on doing what I think you’re doing, you’d need one hell of a lucky break to pull this off,” he shook his head “you’re talking about exiting hyperspace _in_ a planetary atmosphere!” he exclaimed

“No,” Astra shook her head “I’m talking about exiting hyperspace in orbit of Cadmus’ moon,” she adjusted the controls “strap yourself in,” she ordered “this is _not_ going to be a smooth ride,” she gripped the controls “Chewie, angle the forward shields. All right…in three…two… _one_!”

The _Falcon_ suddenly jerked out of hyperspace, streaking across the barren, lifeless surface of Cadmus’ moon of Corbin before Astra adjusted the controls, pulling the ship up to slingshot around the moon to the dark side, using the moon’s gravity as a brake, slowing the ship down into a hard but steady and stable orbit.

“Well,” Astra panted out “that was easy…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, folks! No Lucys were harmed during the making of this fanfiction :=)


	13. Break Out, Break In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A very short Chapter THIRTEEN, enjoy! :=)

******

As the _Millennium Falcon_ hung in space on the dark side of Cadmus’ moon on Corbin, Astra slowly lowered the power on the _Falcon_ to bare minimum, the lights dimming and the air chilling.

“Winn?” she whispered as the sensors picked up two TIE fighters on an intercept course

“Almost,” Winn nodded as he peered intently at his datapad “almost…yes, I’m in,” he hissed as the pad chirped in response “OK, I’ve got access to the listening post’s sensors and…got it. I masked our sensor profile, as far they’re concerned, right now we’re just a blip of background radiation” he explained

Astra glanced back at the scanner, watching as the TIE fighter swung around and then headed back to base

“Good,” Astra let out a shaky breath “OK, now, try to disable the planetary shield; we need to be able to land”

“OK…” muttering, Winn went back to typing…

******

“Lady Luthor,”

Lillian turned, frowning at the officer now standing before her

“Forgive me, My Lady,” he apologized “but Lord Vader requests an update on your progress”

“Tell him that I will update him when _I_ deem it necessary,” Lillian replied “and, if he objects, well…now, that’s not my concern, is it? Seeing as how you’ll be the one delivering the message”

“But—” the officer protested

Lillian’s eyes narrowed

“Are you questioning my ord—,” she stopped suddenly, frowning as she looked around, head tilted as if listening for something “Astra!” she hissed…

******

Alex looked up at the distinct sound of boots marching down the corridor outside the cell

“That can’t be good” Han muttered as the cell door suddenly slid open. General Lane and a stormtrooper stood on the other side, both swiftly entering. General Lane frowned as he glanced between each one of them

“Guard” he called. Another stormtrooper obediently entered the cell, the first stormtrooper quickly raised their blaster and fired, knocking the other trooper into the cell before turning back to the others, pulling off their helmet

“We need to hurry,” Lucy said. She glanced at her father “relax, he’s on our side,” she explained hurriedly. She stooped down and grabbed the fallen trooper’s blaster and thrust it at Kara as she helped Alex up off the bench “come on,” she hissed “let’s move!”

******

Moving swiftly down the corridor, the six fugitives suddenly slide to a stop

“Back, back,” General Lane hissed, urging them into a small alcove. He scowled as he peered out at the guard station “we need to get past those guards” he muttered

“I got it,” Lucy assured him as she slipped her helmet back on and marched out towards the guard station. The two guards on duty looked up she approached “ _the prisoner in cell 1138 is having a fit,_ ” she said “ _go and quiet him down_ ”

“Yes, ma’am” one guard swiftly stood up, briefly saluting, before he turned to move down the corridor, groaning as Lucy swiftly shot him in the back, spinning on her heel to shot the other guard as well as the various holocameras around the room.

Swiftly holstering her blaster, she slipped off her helmet and gestured for the others to come through

“Messy,” J’onn noted “but effective”

“Yeah, well, stormtrooper, what’d you expect?” Lucy shrugged “Alex? How’re you doing?” she asked as she worked the controls

“Wonderfully,” Alex groaned as she slumped against the console, being only able to stand by virtue of having Kara hold her up. She suddenly looked up, head swinging to the side “uh-oh,” she pronounced “stormtroopers”

“How do you know that?” Kara asked

“Just do, trust me” Alex nodded

“Damn it!” Han grabbed one of the two dead guard’s blasters and hurriedly passed them out “come on, kids!” he barked as the door opened and three stormtroopers marched in, stopping for a brief second, obviously startled

“ _Hey! Blast them!_ ” one suddenly cried as they opened fire…

******

“It’s freezing!” Winn exclaimed as he hurriedly trudged through the snow and ash littering Cadmus’ surface after Astra and Chewie, R2-D2 rolling along a little ways behind him

“Don’t you start!” Astra snapped “I already have Chewie complaining about the cold, I don’t need you too!” she spat as they approached a service entrance. Turning back, Astra nodded at R2 “do your thing” she muttered as R2 quickly plugged into the access port…

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you thought :=)


End file.
